Horizontal core machine



June 28, 1938.

H. G. FLOYD HORIZONTAL CQRE MACHINE Filed Oct. 27, 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 28, 1938. H. G. FLOYD 2,122,199

HORIZONTIAL CORE MACHINE Filed Oct. 27, 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 28, 1938. FLOYD 2,122,199

HORIZONTAL CORE MACHINE Filed 061;. 27, 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 28, 1938.

H. G. FLOYD HORIZONTAL CORE MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 27, 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 H. G. FLOYD HORIZONTAL CORE MACHINE Filed 001;. 2'7, 1956 K? 0 o Q m C QOOQQQQ Q Q June 28, 1938.

r .TrlllllllIIILIPIIIIIIIKIIIIFIL F 0 O \U m 7 J W 1. II III} L Fl furlllm June 28, 1938. H. G. FLOYD I HORIZONTAL CORE MACHINE Filed 06? 27,- 1936 '(SheetS-Sheet 6 June 28, 1938. H. G. FLOYD HORIZONTAL CORE MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Oct. 27, 1956 Ottawa Cit memes June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES HORIZONTAL CORE MACHINE Henry G. Floyd, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to the McWane -Cast Iron'Pipe 00., Birmingham,

Ala.

Application I October 27,

8 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in horizontal core machines for mak ing green sand cores employed in the manufacture of cast iron pipes or similar hollow cylindrical castings.

Among the several objects of this invention are to provide means for supporting acore bar for horizontal rotation about its longitudinal axis to receive a thin sheet of green sand from a nozzle located thereabove; to provide means including a relatively slow speed drum and a cooperating high speed brush or beater forfeeding the sand from a bin into the nozzle in a uniform and finely divided flow whereby the core willbuild up in a uniform manner throughout its entire length; to provide a sand bin above the feeding drum with means therein for preventing the sand from packing in the bottom thereof which would result in a non-uniform feed of the sand by the drum; to provide an elevator for conveying the sand from a bottom hopper to the bin; to provide a deflector for directing chunks of sand from the periphery of the feeding drum to the bottom 11010- per; to provide a variable speed driving means for the feeding drum; to provide a clutch for throwing the feeding drum into or out of operation; to provide a clutch'for throwing the elevator into or out of operation; to provide a deflector at the discharge end of the nozzle which is movable, when desirable, to direct the sand to the bottom hopper; to provide a nozzle having a forwardly swingable front wall for permitting access to the interior thereof; to provide means for continuously rotating the core bar at a constant speed.

With these and other objects in view which will more fully appear, the nature of 'the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a horizontal core machine constructed in accordance with my invention, the elevator chains and buckets being omitted,

Fig. 2 is a right hand elevation thereof, parts being broken away and the bottom elevator hopper being shown in section,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the machine,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on-the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, I

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the rotary brush or beater, the teeth and the clamping means therefor being omitted,

Fig. '7' is a partial development of the brush,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the brush,

1936, Serial No. 107,889

Fig. 8d; is a similar view but showing a modified construction,-

Fig. 9 is aleft hand side elevation thereof,

Fig. 10 is a vertical cross-section of the nozzle, the front sectionof the nozzle being shown in open position,

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one of the hanger arms for supporting the pivoted deflector,

Fig. 12 isanenlargedfront elevation of the sand storage bin,

Fig: 13 is a perspective view of one of the sand deflectors.

Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

As illustrated'in'the accompanying drawings, my invention briefly stated, comprises a main frame Aof the skeleton type, a bottom elevator hopper B located at the rear of the frame and containinga supply of green sand or the like, an elevator C for carrying the sand from the bottom hopper to the top of the frame and depositing the sand into the upper end'of an overhead storage bin D which is supported on the upper portion of the frame and at the front side thereof, a downwardly extending chute E which receives the sand'from the bin, a downwardly extending discharge nozzle F into which the sand is received from the chute, a rotary drum G of relatively slow speed for feeding the sand from the bin into the chute, a rotary brush or beater H of relatively high speed whichcooperates with the feeding drum to break up sand lumps immediately prior to the sand entering'the chute, a support I located below and in spaced relation to the discharge mouth of the nozzle and on which is rotatably supported a core bar J 'forreceiving the sand from the chute, and'a pattern'knife K for shaping the core which is being formed.

The main frame The main frame A is preferably formed of structural steel units, and comprises spaced front standards 5, Band spaced rear standards I, 8. The front standards are connected at their upper portions by spaced upper and lower horizontal beams 9, I0, and the rear standards are connected at their upper portions byspaced upper and lower horizontalbeams ll, I2. The front and'rear standards 5, 'I are connected at their upper portions by spaced upper and lower horizontal beams I3, I4, and the front and' rear standards'fi, 8 are connected'at their upper portions by spaced upper and lower horizontal beams I5, I6. Mounted on the front and rear beams 9, II and extending fore and aft of the frame are transverse beams I'I, I8, and similarly arranged beams I9, 20 are attached to the under faces of the beams 9, II below the beams I I, I8. Transverse beams 2|, 22 are mounted on the front and rear beams I 9, l2 and are disposed below the beams I1, [9 and I8, 20. Vertical posts 23, 24 are respectively disposed between the transverse beams I9, 2| and the transverse beams 20, 22, and are located adjacent the front of the frame.

The elevator The elevator C is of the endless bucket conveyor type, and includes a drive shaft 25 which is journaled on the upper transverse beams il, [8 of the frame A. The shaft 25 is located centrally between the upper beams 9, II and extends in parallelism therewith. A driven shaft 25 is located in the bottom hopper B and is journaled in bearings mounted therein. Sprocket wheels 21, 2! are fixed to the drive shaft 25, and sprocket wheels 28, 28 are fixed to the driven shaft 26. Endless chains 29, 29 are trained around these sprocket wheels, and buckets 30 are connected to the chains. The front leg of the conveyor is bowed rearwardly over idler sprockets 3!, 3i journaled in bearings mounted on the transverse beams 19, 2B, and the rear leg is correspondingly bowed rearwardly over idler sprockets 32, 32 which are likewise journaled in bearings mounted on the transverse beams I9, 29. It will therefore be seen that the upper portion of the conveyor extends upwardly and forwardly over the upper or receiving end of the storage bin D whereby the buckets 30 will deposit their sand contents into the bin and whereby the buckets will clear the bin during their initial downward or return movement.

The storage bin and feeding drum The storage bin D is preferably formed of sheet metal and is located in the forward portion of the frame A below the drive shaft 25 of the conveyor and directly above the feeding drum G.

The drum G comprises a cylindrical shell 33 of relatively large diameter which is closed at its ends by end caps 34, 34 in which are axially mounted outwardly projecting shafts 35, 31 journaled in bearings 36, 38 mounted on the transverse beams 2l, 22 directly in rear of the posts 23, 24 of the main frame A.

The rear upper portion of the bin is located within the rearwardly bowed portion of the front leg of the conveyor. The bin is rectangular in horizontal crosssection, and comprises a rear vertical wall 39, a front vertical wall 4!] and end walls 4|, 42. The bin is located between the transverse beams I9, 29 of the frame A and is rigidly connected thereto. The rear wall 39 in-- cludes a vertical upper portion 45, and a forwardly and downwardly inclined lower portion 46, the lower end of which has a slight clearance with respect to the periphery of the feeding drum G. The lower edges of the end walls 4!, 42 are concaved and have a slight clearance with the periphery of said feeding drum G. The front wall 40 includes a vertical upper portion 43 and a downwardly and rearwardly inclined lower portion 44 having its lower edge located above and in spaced relation to the periphery of the feeding drum G.

A downwardly and forwardly inclined front wall portion 41, preferably of channel beam construction, is rigidly connected at its ends to the end walls 4|, 42 and is rigidly connected along its upper edge to the front face of the lower portion 44 of the front wall and registers with the lower edge thereof. The front wall portion 41 is provided with a plurality of transversely extending slots 48. A vertical gate 49 which extends between the end walls ll, 42, is located directly in rear of the rotary brush or beater H and is mounted on the wall portion 41 for vertical adjustments with respect to the periphery of the feeding drum G to thereby vary the volume of sand being discharged by said drum into the chute E. The gate 49 carries a rearwardly and upwardly extending flange 50 having clamping bolts 5! which project through the slots 48 and function to retain the gate in any position of vertical adjustment. The bottom edge of the gate, at the left hand end thereof, is provided with a step or cut-out portion 52 which permits a greater amount of sand to be fed into the bin at that end in order to supply the requisite amount of sand to the bell end of the core bar J. It will be observed that the bin has an open top, and that the bottom of the bin is closed by the feeding drum except for the opening formed by the gate. In the upper rear portion of the bin is mounted a forwardly and downwardly inclined wall 53 for directing the sand downwardly and forwardly against the front wall.

Thus it will be seen that the inwardly sloping walls 44, 53, 46 carry a certain proportion of the weight of the sand and thereby relieve the pressure immediately over the feeding drum G. Practice has demonstrated that the sand immediately over the drum and next to the gate 49 is very loose and free with the result that the sand feeds through the opening under the gate in a very smooth and uniform manner.

The sand guard A substantially vertical sheet metal plate 54 is located in front of the upper end of the elevator and above the bin and functions to deflect the sand as it leaves the buckets into the upper end of the bin and against the inclined wall 53 thereof and thereby prevent the sand from being projected forwardly of the machine.

The chute The chute E which is preferably formed of sheet metal, is rigidly supported by the lower transverse beams 2|, 22 and the lower front beam ID of the frame A. It is located in front of the feeding drum G and below the rotary brush or beater H. The upper end of the chute is open and the edge thereof is disposed in an upwardly and forwardly inclined plane, the lower rear edge 55 thereof being located slightly below the horizontal plane containing the axis of the feeding drum G and in close proximity to the periphery of said drum. Attached to the front wall 56 of the chute adjacent the upper edge 51 thereof is a sand deflector 58 which extends upwardly in front of the rotary brush H for directing sand, which is moved forwardly by the rotary brush G, into the chute E.

The rotary brush or beater The rotary brush or beater H comprises a cylindrical shell 59 of relatively small diameter which is closed at its ends by end caps 60, 60 in which are axially mounted outwardly projecting shafts 6|, 52 journaled in bearings 63, 64 mounted on the posts 23, 24 of the frame A. A plurality of spaced strips 65 which may be of metal, leather, rubber, or other suitable material, are longitudinally disposed on the periphery of the drum. Each strip is provided with a longitudinal series of openings 66 which are spaced equidistant apart. The openings 66 of alternate strips are disposed in parallel transverse planes and the openings of the intermediate strips are disposed in intermediate transverse planes whereby the openings of the alternate strips and the openings of the intermediate strips are disposed in staggered relation. Inflexible metallic pins or fingers 6'! having heads 68, project radially through the openings 66, the pins being of uniform length, and the heads being disposed between the strips and the outer face of the shell 59. Clamping plates 59 which extend longitudinally of the drum, are respectively disposed in overlapping relation with respect to adja cent pairs of strips 65 and are removably clamped against the strips by clamping bolts in which pass through openings in the plates and into threaded openings H in the shell 59. As previously stated, the rotary feeding drum G is rotated at a relatively slow speed and the rotary brush H at a relatively high speed. Consequently, should the sand be fed in bunches or slugs from the bin D by the feeding drum G, the rotary brush will contact such bunches or slugs and break them into a fine sand stream.

Sand deflector In practice, it is not always possible to position the brush H sufiiciently close to the feeding drum G to effect the brushing of all the sand from the drum. This condition is particularly true with a drum in which the periphery is not entirely concentric because a thin layer of sand will be left on the drum when the low part of the drum passes under the brush. This layer of sand would slide off the drum in chunks and after passing through the nozzle F, these chunks would knock some of the deposited sand off the core bar. To overcome this objection, I have provided a sheet metal sand defiector 12 which is positioned between the lower rear edge 55 of the inlet of the chute E and the periphery of the feeding drum G, the defiector projecting downwardly and rearwardly so as to direct such chunks to the rear of the core bar J and into the bottom hopper B. The upper edge portion 13 of the deflector projects upwardly and forwardly above the lower edge 55 of the upper end of the chute and functions to initially receive the chunks as they leave the drum, said edge portion 13 being located below the axis of the feeding drum G. This The nozzle and the sand deflector The nozzle F is located directly under and in register with the lower end of the chute E, and is disposed in a vertical plane containing the core bar J. The nozzle includes a rear wall 14, end walls l5, 15 which are rigidly attached thereto, and a front wall which includes a stationary upper section Ti and a forwardly swingable lower section 13, the front and rear walls tapering downwardly to their lower ends where they form a very narrow and elongated discharge mouth. The lower section 18 of the front wall is provided at its ends with hinge straps 19, 79 which project upwardly above the section and are pivotally supported on horizontal hinge pins 80, 80 mounted on the stationary upper section 11 of the front wall. Any suitable releasable means (not shown) may be provided to retain the swingable front section E8 in its closed position. By providing the nozzle with the swingable front tends throughout the width of the nozzle and is provided at its ends with rigid pivot pins 83, 8d. Hanger arms 85, 36 which are rigidly secured to the lower portions of the end walls 15, 16 project downwardly below the nozzle and are provided with bearings openings for receiving the pivot pins 83, 8A. The hanger arm is provided with spaced front and rear stops 8?, 88, and rigidly clamped to the hinge pin 83 and projecting upwardly therefrom and between said stops is a manually operable lever arm 89 having a weight 90 fixed on the upper end thereof. The stops 81, B8 are respectively located in front of and in rear of a vertical. plane containing the pivot pins 83, B4, and consequently the weighted arm may be swung against either stop and retained in its adjusted position. When the arm is positioned against the rear stop 88, the wall 82 of the deflector will be in a vertical plane and thereby permit the sand gravitating onto the core bar J. When, however, the arm is moved against the forward stop til, the wall 82 of the deflector will be inclined and thereby direct the sand to a point in rear of the core bar J. Thus, when the core bar is being coated with sand, the arm 89 will be retained against the rear stop 88, and as soon as the core has been completed the lever Will be swung against the front stop 81 in order to cause the deflector to direct the sand away from the core.

The driving and controlling mechanism for the elevator, the rotary feed drum, and the rotary brush An electric motor 9| is supported on a transverse beam which is located on the left side of the transverse beam 2| of the frame A. A pulley 92 on the motor shaft drives a pulley 93 on the shaft iii of the rotary beater H at relatively high speed through the medium of a belt 94.

The shaft 62 of the rotary beater H drives the rotary feeding drum G at a relatively slow speed through the medium of a variable speed transmission unit 95 and a manually operable clutch 96 which are mounted on the main frame A at the right side of the transverse beam 22.

The shaft 62 of the rotary beater H carries a relatively small diameter pulley 9'! which drives a relatively large diameter pulley 98 mounted on one end of a counter-shaft 99 journaled on the top of the frame A. Mounted on the other end of the shaft 99 is a relatively small gear or pinion lllfl which meshes with a relatively large gear lill mounted on the elevator shaft 25. It will, therefore, be seen that the elevator is operated from the rotary beater H and is driven at a relatively slow and constant speed. A clutch I02 is associated with the shaft 99 and pulley 88 for throwing the elevator into and out of operation.

In operation, a core bar J is positioned on the rollers of the support I, and the bar is continuously rotated at a constant speed through suitable power transmitting connections l2 l from the motor I25. A thin sheet of sand gravitates onto the core bar throughout the length thereof corresponding to the length of the core to be made. The sand is elevated from the bottom hopper B to the top of the main frame A by the elevator C and deposited into the bin D. The sand is fed from the bottom of the bin D into the chute E and nozzle F by the drum G which is rotated at a relatively slow speed, the amount of sand being fed being controlled by the speed of the drum and by the vertical position of the gate 49. The speed of the drum (3- may be regulated to suit conditions by the variable speed transmission unit 95, or it may be thrown out of operation by the clutch 96. If sand is being fed into the bin at a rate faster than it is being discharged therefrom, the elevator C may be stopped by the clutch H12. Should any of the sand, when leaving the bin, be formed into bunches or slugs, the high speed rotary beater II will break them into a fine stream. Should any sand adhere to the rotary drum G, due to the latter being not entirely concentric, the chunks of sand will be directed away from the chute and into the bottom hopper B by the deflector 12. A uniformly fine stream of sand is thus directed into the nozzle F and thence onto the core bar J. As the sand builds upon the core bar, the core thus being formed is shaped by the pattern knife K, and the surplus sand from the core is directed into the bottom hopper B by the deflector plate associated with the knife K. As soon as the core has been formed, the deflector 8i on the nozzle F is shifted to direct the sand away from the core and into the bottom hopper B.

In Fig. 8a, I have illustrated a modified construction of feeding drum. In this figure, the feeding drum L includes a cylinder I having a plurality of equally spaced and longitudinally extending ribs H36 of angle iron construction which are secured to the periphery of the cylinder by clamping bolts I81.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a horizontal core machine, means for directing a uniform and finely divided sheet of sand onto a horizontal rotating core bar throughout the length thereof corresponding to the length of the core to be made including a sand storage bin, a discharge nozzle, a rotary drum for feeding sand from the bin into the nozzle, and a beater for the sand disposed without the bin cooperating with the drum at a point intermediate the bin and the nozzle.

2. In a horizontal core machine, means for directing a uniform and finely divided sheet of sand onto a horizontal rotating core bar throughout the length thereof corresponding to the length of the core to be made including-a sand storage bin, a discharge nozzle, a rotary drum for feeding sand from the bin into the nozzle, a rotary beater for the sand cooperating with the drum at a point intermediate the bin and the nozzle, means for rotating the drum at a relatively low speed, and means for rotating the beater at a relatively high speed.

3. In a horizontal core machine, means for directing a uniform and finely divided sheet of sand onto a horizontal rotating core bar throughout the length thereof corresponding to the length of the core to be made including a sand storage bin, a discharge nozzle, a rotary drum for feeding sand from. the bin into the nozzle, and a rotary beater for the sand-cooperating with the drum at a point intermediate the bin and the nozzle, said rotary beater comprising a cylindrical shell, a plurality of spaced strips extending longitudinally of the shell and provided with spaced openings,

headed spikes projecting radially through said openings, the heads being disposed between the strips and the shell, a plurality of clamping plates respectively overlapping adjacent strips,

and clamping bolts extending through the plates and engaging the shell.

4.. In a horizontal core machine, the combination with a skeleton main frame, of a bottom sand hopper located at the rear of the frame, a sand storage bin located at the top front side of the frame, means located in the lower front portion of the frame below the bin for supporting a core bar for horizontal rotation about its longitudinal axis, a vertical nozzle supported on the front side of the frame below the bin for directing sand onto the core bar, a rotary drum for feeding sand from the bin into the nozzle, a rotary beater for the sand cooperating with the drum at a point intermediate the bin and the nozzle, means for rotating the beater, driving connections between the beater and the drum for rotating the latter including a clutch, an elevator located in the rear part of the frame for conveying sand from the bottom hopper to the bin, and driving connections between the heater and the elevator including a clutch.

5. In a horizontal core machine, a sand bin and a vertical nozzle for directing sand onto a horizontal rotating core bar, a rotary drum for feeding sand from the bin into the nozzle, and a deflector located intermediate the feeding drum and the nozzle and having its upper end in close proximity to the drum for directing chunks of sand from the periphery of the drum to a point xterior of the nozzle.

6. In a horizontal core machine, a nozzle for directing a sheet of finely divided sand onto a horizontal rotating core bar, a sand storage bin located above the nozzle, a rotary drum for feeding sand from the bin into the nozzle, a rotary beater for the sand cooperating with the drum at a point intermediate the bin and the nozzle, means for rotating the drum at a relatively slow speed, and means for rotating the beater at a relatively high speed including driving connections between the drum and the beater and a clutch for throwing the drum into and out of operation.

7. In a horizontal core machine, a nozzle for directing a sheet of finely divided sand onto a 1 horizontal rotating core bar, a sandstorage bin located above the nozzle, a rotary drum for feeding sand from the bin into the nozzle, and a rotary beater for the sand disposed without the bin cooperating with the drum at a point intermediate thebin and the nozzle, said heater comprising a cylindrical shell, and a plurality of radially extending fingers supported on the shell.

8. In a horizontal core machine, means for directing a uniform and finely divided sheet of sand onto a horizontal rotating core bar throughout the length thereof corresponding to the length of the core to be made, including a sand storage bin, a large diameter rotary drum disposed across the whole of the lower extremity of the bin and supporting the sand therein, a discharge nozzle offset to one side of and below said bin and into which the drum directs a film of sand from the bin, and a rotary beater disposed above the nozzle and without the bin and engageable with the film of sand on the drum for the purpose of finely dividing said film and throwing it into the nozzle.

HENRY G. FLOYD. 

